How to Avoid Stress When Preparing Your Home for Holiday Guests

Brian Acton

The holidays are a prime time for gatherings, ranging from one-day parties to extended family visits. But when it’s your turn to host for the holidays, getting your home ready for guests can be a stressful ordeal. This holiday season, use these tips to make your guests feel at home without getting too stressed out or overwhelmed in the process.

1. Start Planning Now

Start planning ahead well before your guests are set to arrive. If you’re hosting a holiday party, hammer out the guest list ASAP so you know how many people you’ll be hosting. If you have visitors coming in from out of town, make sure you know how long they’ll be staying.

It will also help to plan out all the steps you need to take to prepare. Make a to-do list for getting your home in order, from cleaning the bathrooms to making sure you have enough groceries in the house. If you’re hosting a holiday dinner, start planning out the menu and writing your shopping list now.

2. Space Out Your Tasks

Once you have a full list of everything you need to do, set aside time on your calendar to get your tasks done one-by-one. Ideally, you can start prepping weeks in advance, a little bit a time, so you don’t have to get everything done all at once.

When it comes to cleaning your home ahead of when your guests arrive, try to get a little bit done at a time. For example, you can clean your bathrooms one day, tackle the living areas the next day, and tidy up the guest bed the following day.

3. Make Sure Your Overnight Guests are Comfortable

The more preparation you do to ensure your overnight guests are comfortable and have everything they need, the less frazzled you’ll feel once they actually arrive. Take a good look at every room the guests will be using, from where they’ll be sleeping to where they’ll be bathing.

Make sure the bathroom is stocked with toilet paper, soap, shampoo, towels, and washcloths. When it comes to the bedroom, clean sheets, blankets, and pillowcases are a must. If you can, invest in some quality pillows to ensure your guests sleep well in their new environment.

4. Delegate Tasks

Don’t feel like you have to do everything on your own. Enlist family members to help prepare, from cleaning around the house to getting some shopping done. Enlist some help from your guests, too - for example, you can ask your guests to prepare and bring side dishes for the holiday dinner so you can focus on the main course.

There’s nothing wrong with hiring professional help if it’s in the budget. A cleaning service can help get your home sparkling so you can focus on other things. Or you can pick up a couple pre-made dishes so you have less to cook for your holiday feast.

5. Take Breaks

Not every spare moment needs to be filled with productivity. It’s important to take breaks so you don’t get too stressed out and overwhelmed. Make some time in the day to forget about your to-do list, relax, and unwind.